Italian › Phrases › Nice to meet you
The quick answer: piacere (pyah-CHEH-reh) — one word, means pleasure, and it works formally and informally alike. The longer piacere di conoscerti is informal; conoscerLa, capital L, is formal.
One word does all of it
Piacere — pyah-CHEH-reh. It means pleasure, it is a complete sentence, and it is what Italians actually say.
Courses tend to teach the long version first, which is backwards. In a real introduction you will hear a single word, said quickly, often with a handshake already in progress.
Every way to meet someone, spoken
| Italian | Say it like | What it does | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piacere! | pyah-CHEH-reh | Pleasure — the one word that always works | |
| Piacere di conoscerti | pyah-CHEH-reh dee koh-noh-SHEHR-tee | Nice to meet you — informal, to someone your own age | |
| Piacere di conoscerLa | pyah-CHEH-reh dee koh-noh-SHEHR-lah | Nice to meet you — formal, to anyone you would call Lei | |
| Molto lieto | MOHL-toh LYEH-toh | Delighted — said by a man, quite formal | |
| Molto lieta | MOHL-toh LYEH-tah | Delighted — said by a woman | |
| Piacere mio | pyah-CHEH-reh MEE-oh | The pleasure is mine — the reply | |
| Come si chiama? | KOH-meh see KYAH-mah | What is your name? — formal | |
| Come ti chiami? | KOH-meh tee KYAH-mee | What is your name? — informal | |
| Mi chiamo… | mee KYAH-moh | My name is… | |
| Da dove vieni? | dah DOH-veh VYEH-nee | Where are you from? — informal |
The formal fork, and how to dodge it
If you want the longer phrase you have to choose an ending, and the choice is about who rather than how polite you feel.
Piacere di conoscerti for anyone you would call tu — someone your own age, a friend of a friend, a colleague you have been told to be casual with.
Piacere di conoscerLa, capital L, for anyone you would call Lei — someone older, a client, an official, anyone in a professional setting you have just met.
And the dodge, which is what Italians themselves lean on: just say piacere. It carries no formality marking at all, so it cannot be the wrong one.
The reply
Piacere mio — the pleasure is mine. That is the textbook answer and it is perfectly good.
What happens more often in practice is simpler: they say piacere, you say piacere back, and everyone moves on. Repetition is not a mistake here.
What happens with your hands
The words are the easy half. The choreography catches people out more often.
On a first meeting, a handshake — firm, brief, eye contact, and it applies to everyone in the room including the women. Wait for it to be offered if you are unsure, but do not be surprised when it comes.
The two-cheek kiss is for friends and family, and it is not a first-meeting move. It starts on their left, which is your right, and it is a touch of cheeks rather than an actual kiss. Getting the side wrong produces a small collision that everyone finds funny except you.
If a friend introduces you to their friend, you may well get the kiss anyway. Follow their lead — Italians will not think less of you for hesitating, and they will notice if you barrel in.
And when you part
There is a phrase for the end of a first meeting that almost no learner carries: è stato un piacere (eh STAH-toh oon pyah-CHEH-reh) — it has been a pleasure.
It costs nothing to learn, it is warm without being effusive, and it is the sort of thing that makes an Italian revise their estimate of your Italian upwards on the spot.
Key facts
- Piacere (pyah-CHEH-reh) is nice to meet you, and works in every register.
- It literally means pleasure and stands alone as a full sentence.
- Conoscerti is informal; conoscerLa, capital L, is formal.
- Molto lieto for a man, molto lieta for a woman.
- The reply is piacere mio — or just piacere again.
- A handshake is standard on a first meeting; the cheek kiss is for friends.
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